Improvement in seed-sower and cultivator



CHARLES G.' CURTIS, OF PLANO, ILLINOIS.

Letters Patent No. 76,306, dated April 7, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEED-SOWEB. AND'GULTIVATOR.

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Be it known that I, CHARLES G. CURTIS, of Plano, in the county of Kendall, in the Stateof Illinois, have invented an'Improved Seed-Sower and Cnltivator; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, maliin'g a part ofthis specification, in which- Figure 1 is aflongitudinal elevation of my invention.

Figure 2, a view of the rear of the same.

Figure 3, a top view.,

Figure 4, a section of the seed-hopper and groove'd roller forsowing grain.

Figure 5, a perspective representation vot' one'of' the cultivator teeth.

Figure 6,a transverse section of the same.

The nature of my invention consists in the arrangement of a spiralvgro'oved cylinder in a hopper at the front ef the machine for distributing the seed on the ground, and elbow-levers pivoted to the ends ofv the axle, and made to extendabove'the machine to a convenient point for raisingand lowering the cultivator, and tothe rear of the machine for the support of a two-part roller working on a singlejournal, and having peculiar-shaped cutter-teeth for covering the seed and pulverizing the soil.

In 'order to give a correct understandingoi` my invention, I have marked similar part-s with like letters, and will now give a detailed description. j

K Krepresent common travelling-wheel s, and Z, g. 2, the axle on which they work. ,A carriage or box, A, .is supported on said axle, and has a hopper, N, in which lis hung-a cylinder, B, having journals U passing through -the ends' of said hopper, one journalbeing long enough to pass through a pinion, Q, and lever R S', and arranged. so that when the sameis-thrown to thefront, using the long. journal as an axis, the wheel O, iig. 8, hung to'lever R S by a journal,v'l, lig. 1, will be put out of gear `with the drive-wheel J, and thus stop the motion of the cylinder B. This cylinder has spiral grooves, ala a, made in its periphery, for the purpose of receiving the grain to be sown, 'and scattering it evenly on the ground, the hopper N being fitted closely to said cylinder to prevent any grain from falling through except what is carried by said grooves. C E represent elbow-levers, pivoted to the ends of the axleZ, tig. 2, secured in place by means of washers'F, and made to extend upward to-a convenient point for a. driver, on the box A, to operate them by means of a rod, I, to which they are fastened.' 'The rear ends of theflevers are made to support a two-part roller, P, arranged t0 revolve'on a journal, X, passing through it, and having bearings in the ends of said levers, and driven by means of pinions Y, attached'to said roller, wheelsA V, having journals d fastened to lugs II, rigidly attached to levers .C E, and drive-wheels J attached to the travelling wheels K.

This arrangement of the vroller I' consider important, especially inthe matter of convenience in turning the machine around, which can be done much more easily than if a single roller of the same length were used, as the partsof the roller shown'will move in opposite directions, and thn's cover the grain instead vof' scraping the sur-A face of the ground. The roller P is to have such a number of teeth, c, iixed iii its periphery as will thoroughly -pulverize the soil and coverthe seed. Only one, however is shown, which has the following-described shape, as seen in the enlarged drawings, iigs. 5 and '6. -evrepresents the curved cutting-edge, and g the back of the tooth, having a shank, L, for fastening it to the drum, and concaved sides c c, for giving a sharp edge, and yet pcrmitting the back to vbe thick and strong for resistingobstructions.

The teeth can .be made of iron or steel, as desirable, but I prefer the latter, as being much more durable, and the cheapest in the end. The roller P may be made of wood, with or without a covering of iron plate, according tothe condition of the soil to be tilled; the other parts of the machine being made mostly of wood, except the gearing, which should be of iron, and made with cog-gear, `not shown in the drawings, as its construction is well ',understood.

Operation. The machine is Asupposed to move in the'direeticn indicated by dart t, and the driver to sit in a seat fastenedfto box/A, and in inconvenient position to raise the roller l?, which can be done by pushing forward on the rod I., this operation boing necessary to carry said 'roller over obstacles', or toan from lthe field. The lever R S can 'be thrown forward and put the cylinder cut of gear, and secured in place, if need be, byl any common catch usei for similar purpose in other machines. l

Having thus Ziescribedmyinvention, I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent 'of the United States- 1. 'The cylinder B, arr-angelil withy spiral grooves a for-dstributing seeti,`sbstantially as and-for theporpose set forth. f i l y 2. The tooth c, having a c ursredcdgc, e, convex hack g, and concaved sidesvc c' substantially as described.- 3. The combination 'of the levers CE -with the two-part rol-ler P, arranged substantially as set forth.

CHARLESl G. CURTIS.

- Witnesses:

DWIGHT Cmfvs,v D. C. Jim1). 

